Council goes on lineAs we move cautiously towards relaxing lockdown, Ealing Council is restarting some of its meetings through the use of streaming as well as video conferencing.

The full Council meeting due on 5 May to elect next year’s Mayor has been postponed. However, some key committees are going online. Cabinet, Scrutiny, Planning Committee and Licensing Sub-committee will take place in May as scheduled, with the public able to watch. Links will be published on the Council web site with each agenda.

The Forum has welcomed this move as key to ensuring that, while face-to-face gatherings remain suspended, deliberations by the Council do not take place with little or no public scrutiny.

It is hoped that further committees will be streamed and recorded for U-tube. Where questions are normally permitted arrangements are being examined to allow public participation, by arrangement beforehand. If you want to take part, contact the relevant Committee clerk at 020 8825 7497.

Greenford tip can reopen – but when?A Government instruction has been issued to councils to reopen waste disposal and recycling depots, and many have done so. Ealing has not responded to our question about when it will, but it’s clear that arrangements will have to be made to prevent long queues when they do. Don’t all rush!

News about testing – and moreA further edition of Ealing Covid-19 Newsletter with a range of news items about how Ealing is responding to the coronavirus has been published by Eric Leach, co-editor of West Ealing Neighbours, and can be seen here.

Tower block developmentsA London School of Economics team is running a survey to better understand what Ealing residents think about tower blocks. Their invitation to participate says:

It is hard to find land in London to build on. One suggestion is to increase density - to allow more to be built on a piece of land. To this end, my colleagues and I at the London School of Economics have put together a survey to better understand what Outer London residents think about this.

The survey can be accessed by clicking on the link below and then, after having read the instructions, by clicking ‘Continue’. It consists of two parts. The first is a short questionnaire and the second contains a series of images for the participant to respond to. More detailed information, including a consent form, can be found on the survey’s introduction page. Participants are encouraged to complete the survey by May 31. Responses will be anonymous. If there are any technical questions or issues, please feel free to email: j.g.karlsson@lse.ac.uk.

The Charity Commission has dealt a blow to Ealing Council’s hopes of completing their sale of the Town Hall to hotel developer Mastcraft, and improved the prospects of the Victoria Hall being preserved for public use as an independent charity.

Victoria Hall seen from Dickens Yard

The Commission’s 13-page report says the council’s scheme could go ahead only if it is significantly modified. Its Reviewer found that the lease was in effect a permanent disposal, and that no thought has been given to whether the proposals meet public needs as set out in the charity’s Trust Deed.

In short, the Scheme as drafted and the proposals negotiated by the Trustee for the future use of the Charity’s property "cannot be said to be a more suitable and effective use of the property than the original purposes and create a significant risk to the trust property".

​Details in the report set out a number of comments o the proposed scheme, and what would be needed to make it acceptable. These are set out below.​

​Amongst objections to the proposals, the Reviewer noted that

no consideration has been given as to whether they are the best that can be obtained for the Charity

the trustee body consists entirely of members of the Council and is inherently conflicted

it would be the operator of the hotel who decides who can hire the facilities - not the Trustee

the categories entitled to use the Hall would potentially preclude some categories of local users

the Trustee has no realistic way of enforcing the covenant

the income from letting the Victoria Hall will go to the private company

a refurbished Victoria Hall may provide function room facilities appropriate to a boutique hotel but not necessarily be the most suitable type of venue for modern recreational and leisure time use.

In relation to the proposed land swap of the Queens Hall for the Princes Hall, the report noted that

there was no assessment of which of the Halls provides the type of facility and space that best meets the needs of the public for recreational and leisure time occupation

the Charity is potentially losing out in terms of the premium that it will receive as a result of the swap of Halls, which is being made for the Council’s convenience as a result of the deal it negotiated

there is disagreement on the extent of the Trust property. This is particularly important since the premium for the disposal of the Town Hall is to be apportioned between the Council and the Trust on the basis of floor area

the timing means that that the Charity will receive a reduced premium and rent from what it might have been entitled to if the swap had not taken place.

The reviewer concluded that, while there are grounds for agreeing that the Trustees could dispose of the property, the scheme as drafted is not a suitable and effective use of the charity’s property and would have to be revised if it is to proceed. Among the changes that would be needed are

consideration should be given to how the money earned from the deal would be distributed to the charity

benefits provided by the charity would have to be re-provided in the building or elsewhere

the council should be clear how it planned to use money earned from the sale of the hall to benefit the charity

the hotel operator is obliged to re-provide the current facilities

a plan to settle any conflicts of interest that might arise should be outlined. There needs to be an arrangement whereby there are independent co-optees to form a quorum where the elected councillors have, or may have, a conflict of interest.

Coronavirus has brought most public activity in central Ealing to a standstill – but not quite all.As well as non-essential shops, development sites have been closed. TfL and Crossrail have “temporarily suspended” work at all projects, unless they need to continue for safety reasons. Berkeley Group, owners of St George who are developing the Filmworks site, said it was “progressively managing the safe, temporary suspension of work" where they have been hit by supply issues.

No-one yet knows what this will mean for completion of these key developments, which have already been long delayed. However some work continues behind closed doors.

Ealing Council says it will continue to process planning applications, with officers working from home. A meeting of the Planning Committee has been cancelled, but it may be able to consider some proposals by internet contact. We expect that this means details of the Perceval House redevelopment will soon be lodged, as well as other changes which may prove significant, with potentially more being settled with little or no public scrutiny.

The Forum will continue to check all new information. Though we have stopped all face-to-face activities, we have been able to keep in touch through video conferencing. While it is unlikely that our June AGM can take place as scheduled, we will continue to keep people informed through our e-newsletter, Facebook and website.

Information and helpEaling Council has joined forces with charities, local groups, businesses and concerned residents to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and has launched a new coalition called Ealing Together. Go to http://ealingtogether.org/ to offer to volunteer, give cash donations to local charities or support in other ways.

Residents can ask for help through a structured and trusted referral system for themselves, a vulnerable family or someone else they know who is isolated and struggling.​If you are in need of support and don’t have anyone close to you to help, call the advice line on 020 8825 7170.

The Council is to roll-out a 20mph speed limit across the whole of central Ealing at the end of March this year, the Forum has learnt.

“A successful trial and review [in Acton] will see the speed limit expanded to residential areas and town centres across the Borough by Spring 2019”, Ealing Council Cabinet said on 21st July 2015. The Acton 20mph limit was made permanent in Spring 2018.

We now hear that the Council is to implement a second trial 20mph limit area, to the west of A406 North Circular. In the south, Hounslow Council also plans a 20mph zone.

The Borough’s Transport Strategy, Local Implementation Plan and Cycle Plan all include a Borough-wide speed limit. These plans were approved by the LBE Cabinet on 12th February.

We asked the Council officers who wrote the report for some background on the implementation of 20mph west of A406 North Circular Road. We have been told the next step should be the publication of the formal traffic order. If all goes to plan, this will come into effect on 31st March.

The Brentham Garden Estate has been recognised as one of the top ten Conservation Areas in England. This comes soon after Ealing Council passed plans to cut its Conservation Officer post, despite Neighbourhood Plan conservation policies adopted only last December.

In a national poll by Civic Voice, which represents 75,000 individual members in 275 civic groups, Brentham ranked number nine. The vote was part of The Big Conservation Conversation to raise awareness about areas of historic interest and encourage communities to celebrate and protect those at risk.

The Central Ealing Neighbourhood Forum has congratulated Brentham on its success. Forum Chair Tony Miller said: “This underlines the importance of Conservation Areas to a thriving local community. Our CAs are among the features which give Ealing its special identity and a sense of place, making it an attractive area to live, work and visit.”

​Brentham has benefitted from conservation policies which have protected and enhanced its special style and spaces. “This demonstrates the importance of having a specialist Conservation Officer to advise planners,” said Tony.

Ealing Council Cabinet agreed at its meeting on Tuesday 16 October to a five-year extension of the mandate for CENF, a year after the successful referendum on the Neighbourhood Plan.

The report to Cabinet noted that a correctly prepared application and supporting documents had been received by the Council in June A public consultation was subsequently run for 6 weeks from 6 July to 17 August. A total of 23 responses were received, 21 of which supported the redesignation of the Forum for another 5-year period, There were no objections.

Given the positive response to the consultation and the lack of any changes to the Forum boundary, which coincides with the adopted Central Ealing Neighbourhood Plan, it was recommended and Cabinet agreed to the redesignation of the Forum.

The Forum will now concentrate on monitoring application of the Plan, and working to implement its projects, as agreed at the last open meeting (see previous blog).

​Supporters had their say on implementing the Neighbourhood Plan at the Forum’s Open Meeting on 11 October. The discussion looked atwhat the Plan priorities are, who will carry the out, and how they will be paid for.

The Forum Chair, Tony Miller, said that the two main tasks were monitoring how the plan's policies were applied when new planning applications were made, and working to get our projects, called 'Recommended actions' in the Plan, put into effect.

The management committee is already looking at new planning applications as they are submitted. More importantly, we now have a chance of engaging developers in discussions before plans reach the stage of being formally submitted. We Town Council. We aim to have talks with Galliford Try, Ealing's partners in the redevelopment of the Perceval House site, before they are too far advanced.

The meeting also looked at the list of projects (listed below), which we now aim to get included in the Council's list of infrastructure over the next five and more years. While a few can hopefully be paid for from funds allocated from levies on development ,l other sources of finance will also have to be found. Options were the creation of a charitable trust fro some projects, and the creation of a Town Council with its own power to raise money. More work is to be done on these options.

Making our town fit for 2026A year ago, you – local residents and businesses– voted overwhelmingly for the Central Ealing Neighbourhood Plan created by the ForumA year later, Ealing Council is about to renew the mandate of the Forum.Its job will be to monitor delivery of the Plan.How can it do this?You can again have your say, at the Forum’s Open Meeting this weekon THURSDAY 11 OCTOBERat EALING GREEN COLLEGE, W5 5EWfrom 8 – 9:30 pmThe agenda is simple: WHAT are the Plan priorities? WHO will carry them out? HOW will they be paid for?​All are welcome.

Any more delay with the rebuilding of Ealing Broadway station will pose unacceptable risks to the travelling public, Central Ealing Neighbourhood Forum has warned.

Tony Miller, Chair of the Forum, says that the threat of yet further hold-up on the station could even mean that Elizabeth Line services to Heathrow – now scheduled for December 2019 – will be running before vital work on passenger access is finished.

Ealing Council has already warned that improvements to the public area outside cannot be completed until after the building itself is ready.

“We have been saying for years that the present entrance is dangerous, particularly for the disabled, those with luggage or with children in buggies,” said Tony. “Since 2011, just before the picture [left] was taken showing the stairs to street level, the number of people passing through the sole entrance each year has risen by 700,000. Yet despite promises to accelerate the work, no improvement has been made to what even then was a risky and unacceptable situation.”​

The excuse from Network Rail for the new delay to the start of services is that there is a need for more testing time. This is not relevant to building stations, continued Tony, as no new technology is involved.

“We cannot accept a continuation of the present situation, which presents a serious risk of injury or worse to passengers, for which Network Rail will be clearly responsible”, concluded Mr Miller. “We need an immediate clear, unequivocal and irreversible commitment from the very top to start work without more procrastination.”

The Public Inquiry into the development at 9-42 The Broadway, which was due to start next Tuesday 9 May, has been cancelled after developers Benson Elliot withdrew. Their planning application, originally approved by Ealing Council and the London Mayor, had been 'called in' by the Secretary of State for re-examination after strong opposition from local groups and from Historic England, concerned about the adverse effect on central Ealing's Conservation Area.

It is understood that BE have sold the whole site to British Land, who already own the aneighbouring Ealing Broadway Centre. BL are now expected to review the plan and come up with new proposals which would not meet the same objections as both the two previous Council-backed schemes. The policy vision of the new Central Ealing Neighbourhood Development Plan will also be a key factor.

You - the author

CENF is a partnership of local residents and businesses. It's open to everyone interested in the future of our town centre. This is where youcan let us have your ideas about how the town centre should develop.